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Health Care Bill

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Through a number of provisions — such as individual and employer mandates, health insurance exchanges, and the expansion of Medicaid — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims to expand access to health care for uninsured Americans. RAND has examined implementation challenges, cost and coverage implications, Medicaid expansion, state health insurance exchanges, and reforms to both care delivery and payment.

Consumers have access to compare a variety of health insurance plans before selecting the one that best suits their needs. But the task can be complicated by difficulty understanding health insurance jargon, poor numeracy, inadequate decision-support tools, and too many choices.

The likelihood that mothers with private health insurance would start breastfeeding increased by 2.5 percentage points after the Affordable Care Act mandated the coverage of lactation support services.

The Affordable Care Act's expansion of coverage for people under age 26 led to a 1-percent reduction in uninsurance, equating to a 0.8-percent decrease in workers' compensation claim frequency, and a roughly 1-percent decrease in overall claim costs.

Uninsured individuals who knew more about health insurance and finance were more likely to gain coverage under the ACA. Policies and programs aiming to reduce the numbers of uninsured should consider the financial literacy and health insurance knowledge of the groups they are trying to reach.

The Trump health care proposal would decrease the number of insured and increase consumer health spending among those with marketplace insurance relative to current law. The policies would also increase the federal deficit by varying amounts.

The Clinton health care proposal would increase the number of insured individuals and decrease consumers' health spending relative to current law. However, the policies with the largest coverage gains also increase the federal deficit the most.

After key ACA provisions went into effect in 2014, enrollment of HIV-positive patients increased. Those newly enrolled in a large California health plan were more likely to be male, in a high-deductible plan, and to have better viral control.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this brief reports on a case study on Houston, Texas.

Part of a series on innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report summarizes a case study on Tacoma--Pierce County, Washington.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report describes a case study on Boston and Massachusetts.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report is a case study on three Colorado counties.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report describes a case study on New Orleans, Louisiana.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this brief reports on a case study on Illinois.

Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report describes a case study on West Virginia.

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Researcher Spotlight

Senior Project Associate

Liisa Hiatt is a senior research associate at the RAND Corporation. She is currently managing an evaluation of the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) demonstration as well as helping to develop assessment items for Post-Acute Care. Hiatt also oversaw the development of a system that tracks…

Associate Economist

Michael (Misha) Dworsky is an associate economist at the RAND Corporation. His primary research interests are in health economics, labor economics, public finance, and the economics of insurance. Much of his work at RAND is centered on Workers' Compensation and Health Insurance. He led a study…

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